Big Lots seeks to lure upscale shoppers

Columbus, Ohio Big Lots is hoping to attract the many high-end shoppers who are adding discount chains to their list of shopping destinations with the opening of a new store in a relatively upscale area of Columbus, Ohio, Dow Jones Newswire reported.

The two-week-old store, which occupies a space that was formerly a Linens N’ Things location, offers the chain’s standard assortments.

To fit into the affluent marketplace and appeal to its new customer base however, the chain is breaking away from its bare-bones decor and using better lighting, wider aisles, as well as more innovative in-store technology to communicate with its shoppers.

Neighboring stores include Saks, Macy’s, Brooks Brothers and Victoria’s Secret.   

The new store could help the chain transition from its “bargain bin” image and instead “capitalize on the better brands, better quality and better value,” it advertises, Big Lots’ CEO Steven Fishman said during a conference call with analysts, according to the report.  

Big Lots is further supporting this goal by procuring merchandise from overstocked manufacturers who are doing less business with higher-end retailers, he added.

The new store joins eight other locations that opened during the first quarter. Big Lots is planning to add a total of 45 new stores in fiscal 2009, with more to come in upcoming years, Fishman said.